CONCORD – Gov. John Lynch today joined Maine Gov. John Baldacci and Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas in sending the following letter to FairPoint CEO David Hauser:

Dear Mr. Hauser:

This letter is in response to your recent public statements regarding FairPoint’s efforts to restructure its debts, including the possibility of reorganization under the Bankruptcy Code.

As you are well aware, FairPoint customers in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have, over the past year, withstood serious service quality problems as a result of the conversion from the Verizon systems to your own. FairPoint’s ongoing and persistent operational problems continue to be a source of inconvenience and hardship for FairPoint customers in Northern New England. We seek to ensure that any financial restructuring of FairPoint will not result in further erosion of the services you provide, nor adversely impact the commitments that FairPoint made when it was granted licenses to operate in our three states. While our hope from the outset has been that FairPoint’s efforts would be successful, we write today with a focus on ensuring that the public interest is protected.

Any restructuring of FairPoint’s debt must include, as one of your highest priorities, the goal of improving the quality of service to customers and a commitment to implementation of the infrastructure improvements and the expanded broadband deployment that you are currently bound to provide. We understand debt restructuring will involve a sensitive, commercial discussion between FairPoint and its creditors. Our concern is that the outcome of those negotiations might have a profound effect on telephone service and future investments in telecommunications infrastructure, which are so important to the businesses and citizens in our states.

FairPoint’s network is the backbone of the public switched telecommunications network in the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. As such, FairPoint’s network is relied upon, not only by its customers, but by every telecommunications carrier in these states, including CLECs, wireless, cable, and VOIP carriers. Therefore, that network constitutes a “public asset” that has been entrusted to FairPoint. We will hold FairPoint to its promises to repair and improve that network.

You and your predecessor, Gene Johnson, have publicly expressed FairPoint’s commitment to Northern New England. The approvals by our respective utility commissions of your acquisition of the Verizon system were expressly based upon that commitment and on FairPoint’s explicit desire to conduct business in a manner that benefits your customers. It is our expectation that, as part of that continuing commitment, FairPoint will, at the very least, keep our respective representatives apprised of the direction and substance of these discussions and their likely outcomes.

Each of our States needs this information so that, as the Company navigates its restructuring, the States may consider how best to protect the interests of our citizens prior to the commencement of any bankruptcy proceeding.

Sincerely,

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Governor John E. Baldacci
Maine

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Governor John H. Lynch
New Hampshire

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Governor James H. Douglas
Vermont